Gfi is the first IT services company to receive the Afaq Innovative Company label from Afnor

Over the past few years, the Group has developed both a culture and a range of services and solutions in the field of innovation. Today, the attribution of the Expert level of the Afaq Entreprise Innovante (Innovative Company) label by Afnor recognises and rewards Gfi's Innovation approach, which is a pillar of its corporate culture.

In France, in partnership with Afnor, Gfi has undertaken a complete evaluation of its innovation approach and practices. Thanks to the label from the French national organisation for standardisation, the IT services company can now communicate its level of maturity in innovation to all its clients and partners. The Group has been evaluated at Expert level (maturity level 4/5) according to a co-constructed evaluation framework, inspired by standards-based approaches such as ISO 56002 (Innovation Management System).

Vincent Rouaix, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gfi, welcomes this award: “At a time when the world is facing a health crisis that is disrupting our lifestyles and economic activity, we are convinced that innovation will be one of the main drivers of the global rebound. This label demonstrates the excellence of our innovation approach, and I would like to congratulate all the employees within the group who have earned it. More than ever, Gfi is committed to helping organisations transform their business models through innovation, and this recognition is a further demonstration of the culture of innovation that is at the heart of our business model.” 

The Innovative Company evaluation has highlighted several characteristics specific to the Gfi Group such as the existence of a network of FabLabs, dedicated to co-innovation with clients and partners, the place of innovation in the Group's strategy as a real lever for differentiation and transformation along with the excellent appropriation of innovation by the management, and the strong commitment to acculturate the Group's employees.

Innovation at Gfi

The Gfi group invests heavily in innovation to enable its clients to project themselves and to experience the latest technological advances on a wide variety of topics such as smart agents with its BotFoundry solution, social robotics, virtual and augmented reality, and computer vision. This investment guides the daily support of its clients, helping them in their transformation so that they can respond to their business challenges.

Innovation represents a cornerstone of Gfi's development and is reflected in a European network of six FabLabs, located in France, Belgium, Portugal and Spain. “The FabLabs of the Gfi Group combine research and proximity to serve as a real accelerator of change for companies. We are planning to open more of them worldwide to support the Group's development,” says Jean-François Gaudy, Chief Innovation & Digital Officer of the Gfi Group.

Innovation is also cultivated internally. For example, in December 2019 the IT services company launched “Do You Speak AI?”, an international initiative via its My University Gfi training platform. This internal challenge, allowing the three winners to spend two days immersed in a FabLab, was open to all employees of the Gfi group, i.e. more than 20,000 people in 22 countries at the time.

About Gfi

The Gfi group, present in more than 26 countries, is a leading provider of value-added IT services and software. Gfi occupies a differentiating strategic position between global firms and niche entities. The Group uses its multi-specialist profile to serve its clients with a unique combination of proximity, sector-based organisation and industrial-quality solutions. With around 27,000 employees, the Gfi group generated revenue of €2.3 billion in 2019 (pro forma).

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